Golfers compete at regionals

Oct. 21—Pisgah and Tuscola golfers alike showcased their talents at regionals this past Tuesday at Cedar Rock Country Club in Lenoir, and all of them represented Haywood County well.

Tuscola qualified for regionals as a team and finished fifth overall with scores of 88 (sophomore McKenna Williams), 112 (freshman Josie Ostendorff) and 118 (junior Sakari Morgan).

Williams score was low enough to place third overall individually, and one of only four scores in the 80s.

Head coach Sean Williams said the course conditions were brutal.

"It was 39 degrees when McKenna teed off with a 10 mph wind right in the face. All the girls were experiencing it. That's a game changer. I knew the scores were going to be high," he said.

But he believed in his team, which overcame a deficit to win the Mountain 7 3A Conference title just a week prior.

"A golfer can get freaked out a little bit. I told them they could handle it. You have to believe you can do it," he said.

He also praised the scores of Ostendorff and Morgan.

"Those two scores are very good considering their inexperience in big-time competitions. It's the first time they've ever had to face a no max-out," Sean Williams said.

A max-out caps a player's max score on a hole at double par. Max outs only occur in nine hole matches, and there are no max outs in regional or state competitions.

The fifth place finish at regionals is an improvement after the team failed to qualify last season. Sean Williams said the team has its sights set even higher next year.

"I'm already telling them that next year is our year. We have the potential to win it all. All five of our girls are coming back next year and we have an eighth grader coming up, so we're going to have six solid golfers," he said. "It's up to them if they want to win it all. But you need rigorous weekly practices and tournament practice to do it."

He said the game is mostly mental, and that's something the team talks about when they discuss how to win big events.

"By showing that they have to be confident and really want to win, you can almost will yourself into playing good. We had a great experience winning the conference championship. At this point, it's mental prep that you have to improve on to succeed at golf," Sean Williams said.

Williams qualifies for state

McKenna Williams continued her dominant year by qualifying for state next week, the only golfer at regionals from Haywood County to do so.

She won her second-straight Conference Player of the Year award just a week ago, and she's only a sophomore.

"Today in practice, we had a big talk even before we started practicing. It was about preparing our mind now for what thoughts will be coming in over the next two days [at state]," Sean Williams said.

McKenna Williams qualified for state last year as a freshman, too, and placed 39th overall.

"We feel more comfortable going into this year. We're trying to cover the areas that we felt like we were lacking last year," Sean Williams said.

He said McKenna Williams, who is his daughter, has to face many of the same challenges of every other player, in addition to the pressure of her success.

"Even though you're seeing a great golfer, she still has her everyday normal human being negative thoughts. She's handling it well. She's excited. Compared to last year, she knows she can go out there and win a big event," Sean Williams said.

McKenna Williams plays in the state championships Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 24 and 25 atLongleaf Golf and Family Club in Marshall.

Cox represents Pisgah

Pisgah, meanwhile, sent one player to the regional championships: Aloah Cox, who qualified for the regionals by averaging 50.6 for nine holes in her best five 9-hole matches.

At regionals, she shot a 121, which is not a bad score considering she's only a freshman who played in her first non-max out competition.

"I was super proud of Aloah because there was only one hole that she went over max out. That was intimidating to her and me because that's a security blanket," said Pisgah head girls golf coach Taylor Clark.

Clark echoed Sean Williams' statement about the difficulty players faced at Cedar Rock.

"The pin placement was tough and the weather was tough," she said.

Overall, Clark said it was a challenging and rewarding first season for Pisgah girls golf.

"I forget sometimes that they are freshmen and sophomores. Golf is not one of those things like basketball or football where girls know the game before they join the team. There was a great learning curve and I feel like we all got better over the course of the season," she said.

Clark is excited for what the future holds, especially since every member of the team (minus senior Kenzie Mathis) will return next year.

"I can confidently say that it looks bright. When you're returning sophomores and freshmen who will be juniors and sophomores next season, and you know you'll have freshmen come up from both middle schools, we are very excited," she said.